Faculty Profile

Dr. Hegna specializes in behavioral ecology and studying how prey avoids being attacked by predators using warning signals to advertise defenses against predators (a strategy known as aposematism). He has combined field behavior experiments with population genetic analyses to better understand how anti-predator tactics influence population structure. His work has involved both vertebrates and invertebrates and taken place in a variety of ecosystems, from the tropics to the Arctic Circle. Much of his recent work involved studying the wood tiger moth (Parasemia plantaginis) across its distribution in Europe and North America. His other research interests involve herpetology and scorpion biology among others.